Display apparatus and method for displaying screen where dragging and dropping of object can be executed and program stored in computer-readable storage medium

ABSTRACT

In the present invention, a user allows a computer to execute application software to display an object on a display and to move the object by dragging and dropping it using a pointing device, thus providing instructions of insertion or replacement of the displayed object. When the user drags and drops an object on a screen displayed on the display in accordance with the application software, an area corresponding to a position where the object is dragged or dropped is emphasized. Accordingly, the user can easily see a position where the object is dragged and dropped. When the type of process to be performed on the object varies in accordance with the position where the object is dropped, the area is emphasized with an emphasis pattern corresponding to a process to be executed. Accordingly, the user can easily determine a position where the object is dragged or dropped.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a program product or a computerapparatus for allowing the computer apparatus to execute a process on anobject by displaying the object on a display and by dragging anddropping the object in response to a pointing device operation performedby a user.

2. Description of the Related Art

Hitherto, a user allows a computer to execute application software so asto display an object on a display. The user provides instructions ofexecuting a process, such as insertion, duplication, move, replacement,or interchange of the displayed object by moving the object by draggingand dropping it with a pointing device.

Under these circumstances, the following problems arise. When the userdrags and drops an object on a screen displayed on a display inaccordance with the application software, he/she cannot easily determinea position to which the object is dragged or dropped.

Also, when the type of process to be executed on the object variesdepending on a position where the object is dropped and when the usercannot easily determine a position to which the object is dragged ordropped, a process contrary to a user's expectation or intention isexecuted after the user drops the object.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to enable a user to easily determine aposition where an object is dragged or dropped when the user drags anddrops the object on a screen displayed in accordance with applicationsoftware.

Also, the present invention is directed to enable a user to easilydetermine the type of process to be executed on an object based on aposition where the object is dropped when the user drags and drops theobject on a screen displayed in accordance with application software.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a displayapparatus for displaying a screen where dragging and dropping of anobject can be executed is provided. The display apparatus includes: adrag detecting unit adapted to detect a position where the object isdragged; a selection unit adapted to select a type of process to beexecuted if the object is dropped at the position detected by the dragdetecting unit; an emphasis pattern determination unit adapted todetermine an emphasis pattern corresponding to the type of processselected by the selection unit; and an area display control unit adaptedto control display so that an emphasized area in the screen is displayedin accordance with the emphasis pattern determined by the emphasispattern determination unit.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a screendisplay method for displaying a screen where dragging and dropping of anobject can be executed is provided. The screen display method includes:a drag detecting step of detecting a position where the object isdragged; a selection step of selecting a type of process to be executedif the object is dropped at the position detected in the drag detectingstep; an emphasis pattern determination step of determining an emphasispattern corresponding to the type of process selected in the selectionstep; and an area display control step of controlling display so that anemphasized area in the screen is displayed in accordance with theemphasis pattern determined in the emphasis pattern determination step.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, acomputer-readable program embodied in a computer readable medium causesa computer to execute the screen display method described above.

Other features of the present invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters designate the same orsimilar parts throughout the figures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with the description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of acomputer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a processexecuted by the computer apparatus in accordance with applicationsoftware.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show examples of an edit screen displayed on a displayof the computer apparatus.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show examples of the edit screen displayed on thedisplay of the computer apparatus.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show examples of the edit screen displayed on thedisplay of the computer apparatus.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show examples of the edit screen displayed on thedisplay of the computer apparatus.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the edit screen displayed on the display ofthe computer apparatus.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the edit screen displayed on the display ofthe computer apparatus.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the edit screen displayed on the display ofthe computer apparatus.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the edit screen displayed on the display ofthe computer apparatus.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the edit screen displayed on the display ofthe computer apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a processexecuted by the computer apparatus in accordance with the applicationsoftware.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention are described indetail with reference to the attached drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of aninformation processing apparatus (computer apparatus 100) executingprocesses in accordance with application software (program) according toan embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a cathode ray tube (CRT) 101 serves as a display device. Forexample, documents, figures, and images under editing, other editinformation, icons, messages, menus, and other user interfaceinformation are displayed on a display of the CRT 101.

Images to be displayed on the display of the CRT 101 are rendered in avideo RAM (VRAM) 102. The image data generated in the VRAM 102 istransferred to the CRT 101 in accordance with a predetermined rule, sothat images are displayed on the CRT 101.

A bit move unit (BMU) 103 controls data transfer between memories (e.g.,between the VRAM 102 and another memory) and data transfer between amemory and each input/output (I/O) device (e.g., a network interface(I/F) 111).

A keyboard 104 has various keys for inputting document data and so on.

A pointing device (PD) 105 is used to point to an icon, a menu, animage, an illustration, or another object displayed on the display ofthe CRT 101. Although not shown, the keyboard 104 connects to thepointing device 105 via an input device interface.

A central processing unit (CPU) 106 controls each device connected tothe CPU based on a control program stored in a read only memory (ROM)107, a hard disk, or a flexible disk.

The ROM 107 holds various control programs and data. A random accessmemory (RAM) 108 has a work area for the CPU 106, a data save area incase of error processing, and a control program loading area.

A hard disk drive (HDD) 109 controls access to a hard disk (HD), whichcan store an operating system (OS) and control programs executed in theinformation processing computer apparatus 100. The HD also stores dataand files of content, such as images. For example, the hard disk in thecomputer apparatus 100 stores object data of this embodiment includingimage data, text data and application software according to thisembodiment.

A flexible disk drive 110 controls access to a flexible disk.

The network interface 111 is capable of communicating with externalapparatuses, such as another information processing computer apparatusand a printer.

A CPU bus 112 includes an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus andallows the various components to communicate with each other. Thecontrol program can be provided to the CPU 106 from the ROM 107, thehard disk, or the flexible disk. Alternatively, the control program canbe provided from another information processing apparatus or the likevia the network interface 111.

The application software according to this embodiment is a programexecuted by the above-described information processing computerapparatus 100. This application software can deal with various objectsincluding illustrations, icons, and data or files of still/moving imagesand thumbnails thereof.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a process executed by theCPU 106 of the computer apparatus 100 in accordance with theconfiguration of the application software of this embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, the CPU 106 of the computer apparatus 100 startsthe application software in step S200 so as to allow the CRT 101 todisplay an edit screen. A description is provided below of a processexecuted by the CPU 106 based on the application software after draggingof an object (data or a file of a still or moving image) started in anediting operation by a user.

In step S201, the CPU 106 initializes emphasis indication informationand emphasis indication object information and stores the emphasisindication information and emphasis indication object information in theRAM 108. The emphasis indication object information indicates whichobject on the edit screen is emphasized. The emphasis indicationinformation indicates how the object is emphasized: for example, a frameof the object is displayed in red with a width of five dots. Herein, theemphasis indication information and the emphasis indication objectinformation are initialized because no object is emphasized on the editscreen at startup.

Although not shown, the RAM 108 stores object information, such as stateinformation indicating a shape (e.g., rectangular or circular) of eachobject and area information indicating coordinates of a display positionof each object. Also, the RAM 108 stores correspondence information(scroll position information, display magnification, etc.) between imagedata displayed on the CRT 101 and the area information of each object.That is, the RAM 108 stores a state of a screen that is being displayedon the CRT 101.

In step S202, the CPU 106 determines whether an object is being draggedor dropped on the edit screen and detects the dragged or dropped object.Although not shown, if the object is neither being dragged or dropped,step S202 is repeated until an object is being dragged or dropped, i.e.,the process is in a wait state at step S202 until a drag or dropoperation is preformed. Dragging of an object is performed by a user bypushing a button on the pointing device 105 on the edit screen to selectan object and by moving the object while keeping the button pushed. Whenthe user releases the button on the pointing device 105 after dragging,the object is dropped. That is, the CPU 106 obtains a status of thepointing device 105 so as to detect a dragged and dropped object and todetermine whether the operated object is being dragged or has beendragged (being dropped). If the object is being dragged, the processproceeds to step S203, whereas if the object has been dragged anddropped, the process proceeds to step S211.

In step S203, the CPU 106 obtains position information of the pointingdevice 105.

In step S204, the CPU 106 obtains, from the RAM 108, object informationcorresponding to the position of the pointing device 105 obtained instep S203. As described above, the object information stored in the RAM108 includes object state information, object area information, andcorrespondence information between image data displayed on the CRT 101and the object area information. The CPU 106 determines and obtainsobject information corresponding to the position of the pointing device105 based on the object area information included in the objectinformation.

In step S205, the CPU 106 selects and obtains a process that will beexecuted after the operated object is dropped at the position based onthe position of the pointing device 105 obtained in step S203 and theobject information obtained in step S204.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3A (described later), if the pointingdevice 105 is in an edit area 301 and if object information alreadyexists at that position, the CPU 106 determines that an object 302 athat exists in the edit screen should be replaced by an operated object304 d.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4A (also described later), if thepointing device 105 is in the edit area 301 and if no object informationexists at that position, the CPU 106 determines that the operated object304 d should be inserted into the edit area 301.

When a process is selected and obtained in step S205, the state of theoperated object and a key pushed during dragging can be taken intoconsideration. Herein, replacement and insertion are used as examples ofa process executed by the application software of this embodiment.However, duplication, move, interchange, creation of a shortcut, and soon, can also be executed depending on the type of the applicationsoftware.

After step S205, the process proceeds to step S206 where the CPU 106selects and obtains an emphasis pattern corresponding to the processobtained in step S205. In exemplary embodiments, emphasis patterns arestored in a table and are associated with types of processes.

Emphasis patterns are described next. Note that, in FIGS. 3A to 4B, awindow edit screen 300 of the application software according to thisembodiment is provided with an edit area 301 and an object selectingarea 303. Before an operated object is dragged, an object 302 a isdisplayed in the edit area 301 and three objects 304 b, 304 c, and 304 dare displayed in the object selecting area 303.

For example, when a display pattern of replacement is associated withdisplaying a frame of the object in red, an emphasis pattern ofdisplaying the frame of the object 302 a at the position indicated bythe pointing device 105 in the edit area 301 in red is obtained anddisplayed, as shown in FIG. 3A. In other words, as indicated by an arrow305 in FIG. 3A, when the user drags the operated object 304 d from theobject selecting area 303 onto the object 302 a in the edit area 301,the object 302 a at the position indicated by the pointing device 105 isemphasized by a red frame. Accordingly, at the position indicated by thepointing device 105, it can be clearly seen that the object 302 a is atarget where the object 304 d is to be dropped and that replacement willbe performed after the object 304 d is dropped at that position.

On the other hand, when a display pattern of insertion is associatedwith displaying a frame of the edit area in blue, an emphasis pattern ofdisplaying the frame of the edit area 301 in blue is obtained anddisplayed, as shown in FIG. 4A. In other words, as indicated by an arrow405 in FIG. 4A, when the user drags the object 304 d from the objectselecting area 303 into the edit area 301, the edit area 301 isemphasized by a blue frame. Accordingly, at the position indicated bythe pointing device 105, it can be clearly seen that the edit area 301is a target where the object 304 d is to be dropped and that insertionwill be performed after the object 304 d is dropped at that position.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the process proceeds to step S207 where theCPU 106 compares the object information obtained in step S204 and theemphasis pattern obtained in step S206 with a display status stored inthe RAM 108, such as the emphasis indication object information and theemphasis indication information. If both match with each other, theprocess returns to step S202, so that a next dragging can be performed.If both do not match with each other, the process proceeds to step S208.The display status stored in the RAM 108 is the emphasis indicationinformation and the emphasis indication object information that werestored and initialized in step S201. Therefore, if that information isin an initialized state, a determination of mismatch is made in stepS207.

In step S208, the CPU 106 creates image data of an object in whichemphasizing is reset in the VRAM 102 based on the emphasis patternindicated by the emphasis indication information of the display statusstored in the RAM 108, and displays the created image data on thedisplay of the CRT 101. As in step S207, if the emphasis indicationinformation and the emphasis indication object information of thedisplay status are initialized, the image data is not updated.

In step S209, the CPU 106 creates image data of an emphasized object inthe VRAM 102 in accordance with the object information obtained in stepS204 and the emphasis pattern obtained in step S206, and displays thecreated image data on the display of the CRT 101.

In step S210, the CPU 106 stores the emphasis indication informationindicating the emphasis pattern used in step S209 as a display status inthe RAM 108.

The above-described steps are executed while the operated object isbeing dragged. With these steps, the object is displayed on the displaywindow while the emphasis pattern is changed in accordance with aposition indicated by the pointing device.

A process executed after the operated object has been dragged anddropped is described next with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.2.

As described above, the CPU 106 obtains a status of the pointing device105 in step S202 in order to determine whether the operated object isbeing dragged or has been dragged (being dropped). If it is determinedthat the object has been dragged and dropped, the process proceeds tostep S211.

In step S211, the CPU 106 creates image data that is not emphasized inthe VRAM 102 based on the display status of the object in which theemphasis pattern indicated by the emphasis indication information storedin the RAM 108 is reset, and displays the created image data on thedisplay of the CRT 101. As in step S208, the image data is not updatedif the emphasis indication information and the emphasis indicationobject information of the display status are initialized. Further, amemory area of the emphasis indication information and the emphasisindication object information obtained in the RAM 108 in step S201 isfreed.

In step S212, the CPU 106 obtains position information indicating aposition pointed by the pointing device 105.

In step S213, the CPU 106 obtains, from the RAM 108, object informationcorresponding to the position indicated by the pointing device 105obtained in step S212.

In step S214, as in step S205, the CPU 106 selects and obtains a processto be executed after the operated object has been dropped based on theposition indicated by the pointing device obtained in step S212 and theobject information obtained in step S213.

In step S215, the CPU 106 executes a process on the dropped object inaccordance with the process obtained in step S214. For example, whenreplacement of the object 304 d is executed, the object 304 d isdisplayed at the position where the object 302 a was displayed in theedit area 301, as shown in FIG. 3B. When insertion of the object 304 bis executed, the object 304 d is moved from the object selecting area303 to the edit area 301, as shown in FIG. 4B. In this way, varioustypes of processes can be executed in conjunction with the emphasizingperformed during dragging.

In the above-described embodiment, one process is executed in responseto dragging or dropping on an object existing on the edit screen.However, a plurality of processes may be executed. For example, two ormore processes can be realized at the same time: replacement is executedwhen the operated object is dropped outside a predetermined range of theexisting object; and interchange is executed when the operated object isdropped inside the predetermined range. In this case, as shown in FIG.5A, the object 304 d is dragged onto the object 302 a that is displayedin the edit area 301. Then, when the pointer of the pointing device 105enters the area of the object 302 a outside a predetermined range 510,the object 302 a as a target of dropping is emphasized with a red frameso that it is clearly seen that replacement will be executed. If theuser continues to drag the object 304 d until the pointer of thepointing device 105 enters the predetermined range 510 of the object 302a, as shown in FIG. 6A, the emphasizing red frame of the object 302 achanges to an orange frame so that it is clearly seen that the processhas changed from replacement to interchange. If the object 304 d isdropped when the pointer of the pointing device 105 enters the area ofthe object 302 a outside the predetermined range 510, the object 302 ais replaced by the object 304 d, so that the object 302 a disappears andthe object 304 d is displayed in the edit area 301, as shown in FIG. 5B.If the object 304 d is dropped when the pointer of the pointing device105 enters the predetermined range 510 of the object 302 a, the object304 d is displayed in the edit area 301 and the object 302 a isdisplayed in the object selecting area 303, as shown in FIG. 6B. In theabove-described manner, a process that can be executed by an action onan object can be selected from among a plurality of processes. In thiscase, the range of the object corresponding to each process may bedefined by a predetermined shape or area, or may be defined by apredetermined ratio to the area of the displayed image.

In the above-described embodiment, a change in color is adopted asemphasis patterns indicating the respective types of process. However,the present invention is not limited to the change in color. Forexample, emphasizing may be expressed by changing a width of a frame, adegree of emphasizing, an interval of blinking, a method of inverteddisplay, or a degree of transparency, or by using a double line or awavy line as a frame to be emphasized.

Among the functions of the application software according to theabove-described embodiment, functions that are not related toemphasizing of an object are the same as in general applicationsoftware.

According to this embodiment having the above-described configuration,since an emphasized area varies in accordance with the position of anobject indicated by the pointing device, the user can clearly see theposition where the operated object is dragged and dropped.

Also, according to this embodiment, when a process to be executed on anobject varies depending on a position where the object is dropped, anemphasis pattern is varied in accordance with the type of process, forexample, by changing a color or by blinking an area. With this method,the user can clearly determine an object or an edit area to which anoperated object is to be dropped and a process to be executed afterdropping, so that the user can easily and clearly determine a process tobe executed after the operated object is dropped.

Therefore, even when a plurality of objects exist at a position where anoperated object is dragged or dropped, with the objects being adjacentto each other, or even when the operated object exists at a borderbetween edit areas, the user can precisely determine a position wherethe object is dragged and dropped. Also, the user can know a process tobe executed on the operated object after the object is dropped at theposition indicated by the pointing device before dropping the operatedobject. Therefore, a process intended by the user can be reliablyexecuted.

Further, an operation of dropping can be indicated to the user withoutchanging a shape of a cursor to clearly indicate a position pointed bythe pointing device in response to dragging and dropping of an object bya mouse. Therefore, the user can move an object to a desired positioneven in a precise moving operation requiring a precision of one dot, andthus the user need not be aware of a relationship between a shape of thecursor and a dropped position.

Second Embodiment

In a second embodiment, a display pattern in an edit screen varies inaccordance with an overlapping area between a dragged operated objectand an object already existing in the edit screen. In this embodiment,application software for creating an electronic album by using desiredimages is used as an example. In this case, thumbnail images are used asoperated objects. Hereinafter, descriptions about parts common to thefirst embodiment are omitted and features of the second embodiment aredescribed in detail.

First, an overview of an edit screen of this embodiment is describedwith reference to FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, an edit area 701 of anelectronic album, an object selecting area 702, and a page index area703 showing an index of all pages of the electronic album are displayedon an edit screen 700. The edit area 701 displays a two-page spread ofthe electronic album. In the edit area 701, high-resolution images 704and 705 are displayed on the two-page spread. Thumbnail images 706 and707 are displayed in the object selecting area 702.

In this embodiment, when a user drags a thumbnail image in the objectselecting area 702, an area of the edit screen is emphasized inaccordance with an overlapping area between a high-resolution image inthe edit area 701 and the thumbnail image. Then, when the user drops thethumbnail image in the object selecting area 702, a high-resolutionimage corresponding to the thumbnail image is displayed in an area ofthe edit screen in accordance with the overlapping area between thehigh-resolution image in the edit area 701 and the thumbnail image.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, when an overlapping area betweenthe dragged thumbnail image 706 and the high-resolution image 704 in theedit area 701 is smaller than a predetermined value, the frame of theedit area 701 is emphasized. Then, when the thumbnail image 706 isdropped at this position, a high-resolution image 706′ corresponding tothe thumbnail image 706 is laid out and displayed in the edit area 701,as shown in FIG. 9.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, when the overlapping areabetween the dragged thumbnail image 706 and the high-resolution image704 in the edit area 701 is equal to or larger than the predeterminedvalue, the frame of the high-resolution image 704 is emphasized. Then,when the thumbnail image 706 is dropped at this position, thehigh-resolution image 706′ corresponding to the thumbnail image 706 islaid out and displayed at the position where the high-resolution image704 was displayed, as shown in FIG. 11. At the same time, a thumbnailimage 704′ corresponding to the high-resolution image 704 is displayedin the object selecting area 702.

Next, a procedure of a process executed by the CPU 106 of the computerapparatus 100 in accordance with the application software of thisembodiment is described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.12.

In step S1200, the CPU 106 starts the application software. Herein,assume that the CPU 106 has read high-resolution images from the HDD 109and has laid out the images on the pages of the electronic album inresponse to the instructions of the application software.

In step S1201, the CPU 106 displays the edit screen shown in FIG. 7.

In step S1202, the CPU 106 determines whether a thumbnail image in theobject selecting area 702 is dragged. Also, the CPU 106 detects thedragged thumbnail image and a display area thereof. Since each thumbnailimage has a predetermined size, the display area of the thumbnail imagecan be detected based on a position indicated by the pointing device. InFIG. 8, a position indicated by the pointing device is indicated with apointer 801, and the position of the pointer corresponds to a lower leftcorner of the thumbnail image. Specifically, assuming that thepredetermined size of the thumbnail image has a width “w” and a height“h” and that coordinates of the position indicated by the pointingdevice are (Px, Py), the thumbnail image has lower-left coordinates (Px,Py) and upper right coordinates (Px+w, Py+h).

If it is determined in step S1202 that a thumbnail image in the objectselecting area 702 is dragged, in step S1203, the CPU 106 calculates anoverlapping area between the dragged and dropped thumbnail image 706 andthe high-resolution image 704 in the edit area 701. Specifically,coordinates of the high-resolution image 704 that is already displayedin the edit area 701 are held in the RAM 108. The origin point of thecoordinate system is at a lower left corner of the edit area 701. TheRAM 108 holds coordinates of diagonal corners of each high-resolutionimage. For example, lower-left coordinates of the high-resolution image704 are (Ix, Iy) and upper-right coordinates thereof are (Jx, Jy).Lower-left coordinates of the high-resolution image 705 are (Kx, Ky) andupper-right coordinates thereof are (Lx, Ly).

Then, if the Y coordinate of the lower-left corner of the dragged anddropped thumbnail image 706 is smaller than the Y coordinate of theupper-right corner of the high-resolution image 704 (Py<Jy) and if the Ycoordinate of the upper-right corner of the thumbnail image 706 islarger than the Y coordinate of the upper-right corner of thehigh-resolution image 704 ((Py+h)>Jy), the CPU 106 calculates andobtains a height of the overlapping area, that is, a difference betweenthe Y coordinate of the lower-left corner of the thumbnail image 706 andthe Y coordinate of the upper-right corner of the high-resolution image704 (=|Py−Jy|). On the other hand, if the Y coordinate of the lower-leftcorner of the thumbnail image 706 is equal to or smaller than the Ycoordinate of the upper-right corner of the high-resolution image 704(Py£Jy), if the Y coordinate of the lower-left corner of the thumbnailimage 706 is equal to or larger than the Y coordinate of the lower-leftcorner of the high-resolution image 704 (Py³Iy), and if the Y coordinateof the upper-right corner of the thumbnail image 706 is equal to orlower than the Y coordinate of the upper-right corner of thehigh-resolution image 704 ((Py+h)£Jy), the CPU 106 obtains a height ofthe overlapping area, that is, the height “h” of the predetermined sizeof the thumbnail image 706. If the Y coordinate of the lower-left cornerof the thumbnail image 706 is smaller than the Y coordinate of thelower-left corner of the high-resolution image 704 (Py<Iy) and if the Ycoordinate of the upper-right corner of the thumbnail image 706 islarger than the Y coordinate of the lower-left corner of thehigh-resolution image 704 ((Py+h)>Iy), the CPU 106 calculates andobtains a height of the overlapping area, that is, a difference betweenthe Y coordinate of the upper-right corner of the thumbnail image 706and the Y coordinate of the lower-left corner of the high-resolutionimage 704 (=|(Py+h)−Iy|).

The CPU 106 also obtains a width of the overlapping area in the same wayand calculates the overlapping area based on the obtained height andwidth.

In step S1204, the CPU 106 determines whether the overlapping areacalculated in step S1203 is larger than a predetermined value. If theoverlapping area is smaller than the predetermined value, the processproceeds to step S1205. If the overlapping area is equal to or largerthan the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S1208. Thepredetermined value is set as a default in the application software, butthe user may change the setting of the predetermined value.

In step S1205, the CPU 106 creates image data in which the edit area 701is emphasized in the VRAM 102 and displays the image data on the editscreen 700. Herein, emphasis patterns are stored in advance in the RAM108 while being associated with overlapping areas. For example, settingis done so that the frame of the high-resolution image is displayed inred if the overlapping area is equal to or larger than the predeterminedvalue and that the frame of the edit area 701 is displayed in blue ifthe overlapping area is smaller than the predetermined value.

In step S1206, the CPU 106 determines whether the thumbnail image 706has been dropped. If the thumbnail image has not been dropped, theprocess returns to step S1202. If the thumbnail image 706 has beendropped, the process proceeds to step S1207. Herein, types of process tobe executed are stored in advance in the RAM 108 while being associatedwith the overlapping areas. For example, setting is done so that thealready displayed high-resolution image is replaced by a high-resolutionimage corresponding to the dropped thumbnail image (replacement) if theoverlapping area is equal to or larger than the predetermined value andthat the high-resolution image corresponding to the dropped thumbnailimage is additionally displayed in the edit area 701 (insertion) if theoverlapping area is smaller than the predetermined value.

In step S1207, the CPU 106 reads the high-resolution image 706′corresponding to the thumbnail image 706 and the thumbnail image 704′corresponding to the high-resolution image 704 from the hard disk so asto create image data in the VRAM 102, and then additionally displays thehigh-resolution image 706′ in the edit area 701 as shown in FIG. 9.

In step S1208, the CPU 106 creates image data in which thehigh-resolution image 704 is emphasized in the VRAM 102 and displays theimage data in the edit area 701.

In step S1209, the CPU 106 determines whether the thumbnail image 706has been dropped. If the thumbnail image 706 has not been dropped, theprocess returns to step S1202. If the thumbnail image 706 has beendropped, the process proceeds to step S1210.

In step S1210, the CPU 106 reads the high-resolution image 706′corresponding to the thumbnail image 706 and the thumbnail image 704′corresponding to the high-resolution image 704 from the hard disk so asto create image data in the VRAM 102. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the CPU106 displays the high-resolution image 706′ at the position where thehigh-resolution image 704 was displayed in the edit area 701 anddisplays the thumbnail image 704′ at the position where the thumbnailimage 706 was displayed in the object selecting area 702.

According to this embodiment, since an emphasized area varies inaccordance with the amount of overlapping area between an objectindicated by the pointing device and an already displayed object, theuser can clearly see a position where an operated object is dragged anddropped.

Also, according to this embodiment, in a case where a process to beexecuted on an object varies in accordance with the amount ofoverlapping area between a dropped object and an already displayedobject, an emphasis pattern varies in accordance with the type ofprocess, for example, the color of the emphasized area is changed or thearea is blinked. Therefore, the user can clearly know a process thatwill be executed after the operated object is dropped.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all modifications, equivalent structures and functions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Application No.2004-256112 filed Sep. 2, 2004 and Japanese Application No. 2005-203467filed Jul. 12, 2005, which are hereby incorporated by reference hereinin their entirety.

1. An image display apparatus comprising a computer hard drive withprogram instructions when executed by a processor to process and displaya plurality of images on a digital page, the image display apparatuscomprising: a control unit adapted to execute one of a plurality ofinsert processes in accordance with a position on a digital page wherean object is dropped, wherein the plurality of insert processes includesan image adding process executed by newly adding a first imagecorresponding to the object on the digital page, and a replacing processexecuted by replacing a second image already displayed on the digitalpage with the first image corresponding to the object; and adetermination unit adapted to change a frame display pattern on thedigital page while the object is being dragged on the digital page andbefore the object is dropped, the determination unit changing thedisplay pattern for a frame of the digital page when the object is on aposition that indicates execution of the image adding process and thedisplay pattern for the frame of the second image when the object is ona position that indicates execution of the replacing process, whereinthe determination unit changes at least one of color, width, shape,transparency and blinking, for the frame display pattern, wherein thedetermination unit determines the replacing process to be executed if anoverlapped area that the object is overlapped with the second image ismore than a predetermined amount, and changes the frame display patternof the second image, and wherein the determination unit determines theimage adding process to be executed if an overlapped area that theobject is overlapped with the second image is less than a predeterminedamount, and changes the frame display pattern of the digital page. 2.The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object isa thumbnail image corresponding to the first image.
 3. An image displaymethod for displaying a plurality of images on a digital page of animage display apparatus, the image display method comprising: executingone of a plurality of insert processes in accordance with a position ona digital page where an object is dropped, wherein the plurality ofinsert processes includes an image adding process executed by newlyadding a first image corresponding to the object on the digital page,and a replacing process executed by replacing a second image alreadydisplayed on the digital page with the first image corresponding to theobject; and changing a frame display pattern on the digital page whilethe object is being dragged on the digital page and before the object isdropped, the display pattern being changed for a frame of the digitalpage when the object is on a position that indicates execution of theimage adding process and the display pattern for the frame of the secondimage when the object is on a position that indicates execution of thereplacing process, wherein at least one of color, width, shape,transparency and blinking, for the frame display pattern, is changed,wherein if an overlapped area that the object is overlapped with thesecond image is more than a predetermined amount, the replacing processto be executed is determined and the frame display pattern of the secondimage is changed, and wherein if an overlapped area that the object isoverlapped with the second image is less than a predetermined amount,the image adding process to be executed is determined, and the framedisplay pattern of the digital page is changed.
 4. A computer-readablemedium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon for animage display apparatus to perform an image display method fordisplaying a plurality of images on a digital page, the image displaymethod comprising; executing one of a plurality of insert processes inaccordance with a position on a digital page where an object is dropped,wherein the plurality of insert processes includes an image addingprocess executed by newly adding a first image corresponding to theobject on the digital page, and a replacing process executed byreplacing a second image already displayed on the digital page with thefirst image corresponding to the object; and changing a frame displaypattern on the digital page while the object is being dragged on thedigital page and before the object is dropped, display pattern beingchanged for a frame of the digital page when the object is on a positionthat indicates execution of the image adding process and the displaypattern for the frame of the second image when the object is on aposition that indicates execution of the replacing process, wherein atleast one of color, width, shape, transparency and blinking, for theframe display pattern, is changed, wherein if an overlapped area thatthe object is overlapped with the second image is more than apredetermined amount, the replacing process to be executed is determinedand the frame display pattern of the second image is changed, andwherein if an overlapped area that the object is overlapped with thesecond image is less than a predetermined amount, the image addingprocess to be executed is determined, and the frame display pattern ofthe digital page is changed.